Stringed musical instrument.



PATENTED JUNE 26, 1906.

L. 0. SMITH. STRINGBD MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. APPLICATION FILED PEBA, 1906. RENEWED MAY 26, 1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS CASS SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HERMAN H. PETERSEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 26, 1906.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be 1t known that I, Lnwrs OAss SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at No. 27 East Twenty-second street, New York city, in the county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stringed Musical Instruments and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to stringed musical instruments; and it has for its object to provide an instrument of that class wherein the strings are vibrated either by means of a bow or by fingers or so called picks and wherein the structure and proportions will be such that tones of high quality will be produced notwithstanding the fact that the instrument may have been manufactured at a low cost and without the care to such details as are vital, especially in a violin, and which occasion much expense in the manufacture of violins and other stringed musical instruments.

This invention furthermore relates to stringed musical instruments wherein the structure and proportions will be such that tones of a high quality will be produced in such instruments, and especially in those resembling in theirgeneral outer appearance ordinary violins, immediately after they are finished, requiring not, as is common with violins, a certain age and years of practical use to produce tones of high qualities.

Other objects and advantages of the invention have reference to details of structure and will be understood from the following description.

In the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a top plan view showing an instrument embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the body of the instrument with the top board removed. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the body of the instrument on line 3 3 of Fig. 2, the overhanging portion of the finger-board being omitted. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken vertically and transversely through a portion of the body of the instrument.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a musical instrument comprising a body including the top or belly 5, the back 6, and the side wall 7, the top or front and the back of the body being swelled as are the corresponding portions of'an ordinary violin, and the front or top board 5 is provided with f-holes 9.

The Wall of the body on each side of the instrument is formed of two strips of wood 5 and 6, bent into propershape, the free ends theerof being abutted in the middle of both ends of the instrument and being lapped over the reinforcing-blocks 10 and 22, respectively, which are glued against the inner faces of the wall and against the top and bottom of the body. Through the abutting end portions of the wall and into the block 10 is engaged a pin 11, which receives fastening 12 for the tailpiece 13, having the same shape and arrangement as. in the ordinary violin. At the opposite end of the instrument is secured the neck 14 by gluing in the usual manner, this neck being the same as the neck of a violin and having the same terminal arrangements, including keys 15 for attachment of strings 16, which pass over the usual bridge 17 and are attached to the tailpiece 13. From the pin or stud 11 the wall of the body of the instrument curves outwardly and forwardly with a gradually-decreasing radius to form the broadened base 18 of the body, this curvature being the same at both sides of the body. The curvature of the wall at both sides is then reversed at both sides of the body, and the opposite sides of the body and the opposite portions of the wall then continue straight and divergently and then curve forwardly and inwardly to the neck of the instrument with a gradually-increasing radius. Against the inner face of the wall of the body, at the opposite side thereof from the neck 14, is secured a reinforcing-block 22, these reinforcing-blocks being curved on their exposed faces so that the interior of the body represents no angles.

Let into the inner faces of the top 5 and the wall 7 of the instrument and filling the corner or angle between them is a continuous reinforcing-strip 23, the inner face of which is concaved, as shown at 24, and'is flush with the said inner faces of the top and wall. A similar strip is let into the bottom and the wall and is indicated at 23, its concaved inner face 24 being likewise flush with the faces of the bottom and the wall. By the use of these concaved reinforcing-strips all angles in all transverse sections of the body of the in- 5 strument are provided again'st.

In the reinforcing-blocks and 22 are sockets 25 and 26, respectively, in which are engaged hollow tapered plugs 27 and 28, respectively, the outer major ends of which are 10 provided with filling-blocks 29 and 30, re-

spectively. In each of the blocks 29 and 30 are formed two sockets 31, in which are engaged the ends of sounding-bars 32 and 33. These bars are bowed outwardly or away from each other laterally and upwardly, so that they gradually approach the portions 19 of the body and the top of the body, the bars being gradually tapered from the plug 27 to the plug 28, so that in top plan they outline a prolate ovoid, the greatest trans verse dimension of which is nearer the plug 28 than the plug 27. While the bars approach the wall and top of the body, it is preferable that they do not touch any portion of the body between their ends, as illustrated in the structure. The bars in connection with the hollow plugs or supports give to the tones of the instrument a volume and a mellowness not otherwise obtainable.

0 Within the body and having its ends against the top and bottom thereof is the ordinary sound-post found in all violins.

The advantages incident to the structure hereinbefore described are evidenced by a 3 5 comparison of the tones of the instrument with those of a violin of usual make and design, and it is found that an instrument enibodying the present invention and made with only ordinary care and at a correspond- 4o ingly low price has a tone equal in every respect to that of a most carefully and expensively made violin, and that said tone is more powerful in volume and at the same time mellow and also distinct in character,

being extremely pure or clear in every stage and every position, is also evidenced by a comparison with those of violins or other instruments having strings and being played by means of a bow or by fingers or so-called picks of usual make and design.

What is claimed is l. A stringed musical instrument comprismg a body including a top, a bottom, a connecting-wall, and reinforcing-strips let into the top and the bottom respectively and the adjacent portion of the wall, said strips having their inner faces concaved and flush with the inner faces of the portions into which said strips are let whereby all transverse vertical 6c sections through the body of the instrument are free from interior angles.

2. A stringed musical instrument comprising a body including a top, a bottom, a wall connecting the top and bottom, reinforcingblocks secured against the inner face of the wall at opposite ends of the body, a. neck secured to the body, string-attaching devices carried by the body and neck, and a pair of sounding-bars supported by and between the reinforcing-blocks.

3. A stringed musical instrument comprising a body including a top, a bottom, a wall connecting the top and bottom, reinforcingblocks secured against the inner face of the wall at opposite ends of the body, a neck secured to the body, string-attaching devices carried by the body and neck, a hollow support carried by each reinforcing-block, and sounding-bars supported by and between the hollow supports.

4. A musical instrument comprising a hollow body, a neck, string-attaching devices carried by the body and neck, a hollow sup.- port within the body at each end thereof, and sounding-bars supported by and between the hollow supports, said bars being tapered from one end to the other thereof and bowed away from each other.

5. A musical instrument comprising a hollow body, a neck, string-attaching devices carried by the body and neck, reinforcing blocks secured against the inner face of the body at opposite ends thereof, hollow closed supports carried by the reinforcing-blocks and soundingbars supported by and between the hollow supports.

6. A stringed musical instrument compris.- ing a body including a top, a bottom, a wall connecting the top and bottom, reinforcingblocks secured against the inner face of the wall at opposite ends of the body, a neck se cured to the body, stringattaching devices carried by the body andneck, and a pair of sounding-bars supported by and between the reinforcing-blocks, said bars being bowed laterally and in the direction of the top, away from each other.

7. A stringed musical instrument comprising a body including a top, a bottom, a wall connecting the top and bottom, reinforcingblocks secured against the inner face of the wall at opposite ends of the body, string-ate taching devices carried by the body and neck, a bridge supporting the strings, a base bar on the inner side of the top part of the body, a sound-post and a pair of soundingbars supported by and between the reinforc ing-blocks.

8. A stringed musical instrument comprising a body including a top, a bottom, a wall connecting the top and bottom, reinforcingblocks secured against the inner face of the wall at opposite ends of the body, a neck secured to the body, stringattaching devices carried by the body and neck, a bridge supporting the strings, a base-bar on the inner side of the top part of the body, a sound post, and a pair of sounding-bars supported by and between the reinforcing-blocks.

9. A stringed musical instrument comprising a body including a top; a bottom, a wall sounding-bars supported by and between the connecting the top and bottom, reinforcinghollow supports. 10 blocks secured against the inner face of the In testimony whereof I affix my signature wall at opposite ends of the body, a neck sein presence of two witnesses.

5 cured to the body, string-attaching devices LEWIS CASS SMITH.

carried by the body and neck, a bridge sup- Witnesses: porting the strings, a hollow support carried H. GRUNDEL,

by each reinforcing-blockLaLsound-post, and LEwIs N. FIRNBACK. 

